


Love in the Snow

by alliebird58



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 03:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5359859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliebird58/pseuds/alliebird58
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: The first time they admit they love each other</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure, unapologetic fluff with just a sprinkle of angst, enjoy our beautiful Scots in love.
> 
> *throws glitter*

Merida was not one to deny her own feelings for comfort. She was (usually) forthcoming in all respects to her emotions and she wasn’t about to lie to herself. Sure, anger might be the initial reaction to said emotions, but she always knew the underlying content of her own heart. 

But she was never above ignoring her emotions if she absolutely had to. 

And at the moment, she was taking her feelings about a certain dark-haired, handsome lord and burying them in the sand. 

Well. Sort of. 

Officially, they had been courting for almost a year. It was an entirely new experience for the young queen and she oft felt like she was drifting out to sea, completely at the mercy of her own heart. On the other hand, the past year had been a time of learning. She had discovered the absolute joy of figuring out another human being inside and out, top to bottom. She had learned that she loved the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her, and having a shoulder to lean on when times were hard and days were a struggle to get through. 

She had learned that her emotions for the Lord Macintosh ran much deeper than she originally thought. 

When she originally accepted the courtship of the young lord, she knew what the ultimate end game was: marriage. That was just how courting worked and Merida was not daft. What she had not expected was for Macintosh to so bewitch her, mind and soul. She never imagined she could find such compassion from his arms around her, strength from his hand on her knee, or conviction from his reassuring glance. She drew courage from his constant presence at her side and when he was absent she felt something stinging in her chest. 

She had never known that she could fall completely, utterly head over heels in love. 

The revelation had come to her on a late evening; the cold weather had drawn people into the great hall for music and drinking and laughing. Merida had been sitting at a table with a group of her fellow clansmen, nursing a mug of ale and laughing about something or other when in waltzed Mac. His eyes were shining with mirth, searching the room until they locked with hers, and the smile that graced his features utterly lit up the room and left her spellbound. He made a straight line for where she was sitting, and when he reached her, he hauled her into his arms, burying his face in her curls. 

Merida had been incredibly caught off guard, and for a few moments just stood there shocked, but she quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and felt herself breath into his warm embrace. 

“What’s all this about?” she whispered to him, as she pulled back slightly, just enough to glance into his eyes. 

“I just missed ye today is all. I have not had one moment today to bask in your presence, my queen, and I am making up for it,” he pressed a light kiss to her forehead and plopped himself down next to her at the table, laughing and joking with the rest of the men around him. 

Merida sat down, but was still lost in the unexpected moment. It had crashed into her all at once that this brilliant man, who so infuriated her and challenged her, was her future and she had the startling realization that she loved him. 

It bowled her over so completely that she ended up short of breath and a wee bit light headed. She rose from the table abruptly, startling the men into silence as she muttered something about needing a bit of air, and she fled from the castle as quick as her legs could carry her. 

Which was how she found herself outside in the snow cold evening, bundled up to her neck, loosing arrow after arrow into the target before her. The repetitive motion helped her focus her emotions, and the constant movement kept her body from becoming so fidgety that it would take flight. She was simply not up to thinking about this incredibly important, life-changing revelation that had just occurred.

Because if she started thinking about it, her mind would wind down the path of how she was completely caught off guard by her feelings. That would lead to her freaking out over how he felt, which would catapult her thoughts into the realm of insecurity and the fact that the lovely man who had somehow captured her heart could not possibly feel the same. She was a queen, yes, but when she was with him, she was just Merida: loud, stubborn, quick-tempered, and most days, a mess behind closed doors. Merida could not imagine someone wanting to deal with such a person day in and day out, and while Macintosh had shown an unwavering loyalty to her, in the back of her mind she was always waiting for the other metaphorical shoe to drop. 

So she fired arrow after arrow in the target, hoping that each shot released from her bow would take away some of the emotional strain, but all she found was her frustration growing. 

“Merida! What are ye doin’ out here?” she turned and saw Macintosh stalking towards her, a look of concern painted on his face. If she had been a little more petulant, she probably would have stomped her foot and screamed in irritation. Mac, while usually the person best suited to calming her frayed nerves, was absolutely the last person she wanted to see. 

“I’m shootin’ ye daft man, I know ye haven’t gone blind. Leave me be.” She turned away from him, back towards the target and raised her bow once more, taking aim and hoping that he would get the message to let her be. But instead of walking away, just as she was about to loose the arrow, he stepped in front of her.

“Merida, please. What in the world is goin’ on?” he took a step closer to her, until he was finally close enough to yank the bow from her hands and pull her towards him. She struggled a bit against his grip, but he was able to hold fast. 

“That’s milady to ye, and let me go, or I’ll cut you down where you stand.”

He let out a huff of frustration, and underneath the bubble of anger she surrounded herself with, she could feel the first crack of something in her heart breaking. 

“Merida. Milady. Lass, I will never let you go. Now ye can either tell me what’s botherin’ you, or we can stand here all night starin’ at each other and I promise, you will get cold far quicker than I.” The steel in his voice cut her down to the bone, but she could tell that if it was going to come down to a battle of determination, he would win. So instead she sighed and sat herself down in the middle of the snow. 

“I realized somethin’ earlier this evening,” Merida began slowly, not looking up, playing with the frayed end of her scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. “I realized somethin’ about us and I’m scared.” 

Macintosh sat himself down next to her, silent, then took what sounded like a deep breath.

“Oh well then…what did you realize?”

Merida braced herself. It was now or never, and if this was going to be the end, she would rather get it done with quickly. A deep breath, a look towards the heavens, and a silent prayer. 

“I love you.”

Silence. 

More silence. 

And still more. Merida could only hear the blood rushing through her ears and her heartbeat pounding, could feel the tears that threatened to spill down her eyes. Gods. She’d ruined it. “I know, I know, I’m not anything close to a proper lady, and I’m difficult and stubborn and probably hard to love but by the gods you are the best thing that’s happened to me and I’m sorry if I’ve ruined this, I shoulda just kept my mouth shut,” Merida felt the panic set in and flung herself to her feet, blabbering the whole time. She kept talking, preparing herself to walk away from someone who had changed her life, but all of a sudden she felt a pull on her scarf and she stumbled backwards a little, only to be pulled forward and have her lips crash into his. 

It was truly unlike any kiss she had received from him before. It was slow and burning; Merida could feel fire coursing through her veins, igniting every inch of her body with a pleasurable heat she’d never felt before. It was true she had very little experience with things such as kissing before Mac, but by the gods he could do things to her, get reactions from her body she never knew existed. She pulled him closer, not knowing if this was just a goodbye (she would gladly let whatever gods there were strike her down and she would die happy) or something more but she didn’t find herself caring a whit. They clung to each other for a time that could have been seconds or hours, breaking apart only when oxygen became necessary, breathing furiously. 

Merida went to pull away, only to have Macintosh yank her back to him. 

“My queen, ye don’t get to make such a declaration as that and walk away from me,” he said, and she could hear the slight teasing in his voice, and then her face was between his hands, forcing her to look at him, and all teasing was gone. 

“Merida…my beautiful, wonderful, absolutely ridiculous queen,” he chuckled slightly, kissing the tip of her nose. “You are, without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I would be an utter fool to let ye walk away from me without letting you know how much it is I love you.” Merida felt her breath catch in her throat. 

“Yes, you are stubborn, and you are loud, but that is who you are. You are also brave, and kind, and the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and without all of those things together, ye would not be the queen that I loved.”

Merida threw herself into his arms, laughing slightly, though the tears that shined in her eyes still threatened to slip down her cheeks - but for a completely different reason this time. Macintosh wrapper her into his body, just as he had earlier, and she could feel his breath tickling her ear as he whispered, “Merida, I love you to the stars and back, I have for months now, and I will continue to love you as long as you’ll let me.” Then she threw herself backwards, landing in a pile of snow, Macintosh sprawled on top of her, laughing. He leaned down, brushing the snowflakes off her face, before kissing her again.

She was still scared of this future that seemed to be unfolding before her. She was still waiting for that other metaphorical shoe to drop. But tonight? 

Tonight she was loved. 

And that was enough.


End file.
